Collapsible wall container

ABSTRACT

A collapsible walled container is disclosed. The container comprises a rectangular floor having supports connected to each corner for removably receiving upright posts therein. A lower, first edge of a chain-link wall member is attached along the length of each side of the rectangular floor. A horizontal support bar extends along an upper second edge of the chain-link wall. Catch means are connected to opposite ends of the horizontal bar for removable registry with a locking and supporting flange connected to an upper end of each upright post.

[451 May 13,1975

United States Patent [1 1 Selz [ COLLAPSIBLE WALL CONTAINER PrimaryExaminer-William 1. Price I [76] .lnvemor' ggig g' ig gy AssistantExaminerSteven M. Pollard Attorney, Agent, or F irmOwen & Owen Co. Apr.23, 1973 21 Appl. No.: 353,398

[22] Filed:

[57] ABSTRACT A collapsible walled container is disclosed. The con- [52]U S C] 220%; 220/ 220/19 tainer comprises a rectangular floor havingsupports connected to each corner for removably receiving upright poststherein. A lower, first edge of a chain-link [51] Int.

wall member is attached along the length of each side of the rectangularfloor. A horizontal support bar exh C r a e [56] References Cited tendsalong an upper second edge of the chain-link UNITED STATES PATENTS wall.Catch means are connected to opposite ends of the horizontal bar forremovable registry with a lock- 0 n e r e D. D. u n a a m m d .W W F g em m 0 c m Poe: D m 5, s m .m .1 n C O 6 PM m. mu mm w f .mo N 00 22 mHZZ00.. 22 u 22 mr mmmn e so mcntfi il ABWH 5992 5567 9999 "NH" 00029 1 l6287 9263 9 0858 2938 2233 a a we. a

a a m n 0 9 E3. 4 i a I PATENTH] MAY 3 3 i975 SHEEI 2 OF 2 A A ACOLLAPSIBLE WALL CONTAINER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The presentinvention relates to portable, collapsible wall containers for use inheavy-duty applications such as the storage of heavy metal parts orscrap from a production operation. The walls of the container arecollapsible to facilitate storage when not in use. Such containers mustbe portable, readily storable and yet extremely durable.

Typical prior art collapsible wall containers often have a reinforcedsteel floor and rigid reinforced side walls connected to the floor by,for example, hinges. The walls of the prior art containers are pivotalon the hinges from a vertical position to a horizontal storage positiononto the steel floor.

Because the side walls of these prior art containers are rigid and mustbe folded over one another when placed in the storage position, they arebulky and difficult to store when not in use. Thus even when thesecontainers are collapsed and stacked, they take up valuable space.Furthermore, the rigid side walls and the hinges are subject to damagethrough heavy use which often prevents proper collapsing of the sidewalls.

The present invention provides a means for compactly collapsing thewalls of the container onto the rectangular floor. At the same time whenthe walls are extended to their upright position, they are strong andyet resilient enough to be capable of withstanding heavy use includingside impact loading.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention comprises a collapsible walledcontainer having a floor and vertical legs on each corner of the floor.An upper extending body section on each of the legs defines an open,axial socket for removably receiving vertical support posts therein. Anopen mesh, non-selfsupporting, resilient wall is connected to theperiphery of the floor and is extendible to a vertical upright position.Opposing catch bolts are located adjacent an upper edge of the wallmember for receipt within opposing cammed receiving members on each ofthe vertical support posts. The catch bolts are placed within the cammedreceiving members by vertically stretching the upper edge of the wallmember above the receiving members. The stressed wall member urges thecatch bolts within the receiving members, thereby locking the wallmember and support posts in a stable, vertical upright position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of thecollapsible wall container of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an end view of the collapsible wall container of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is an end view of two containers of the present invention in acollapsed condition and stacked one upon another for storage;

FIG. 4 is a top view of an unassembled collapsible wall container of thepresent invention; and

FIG. 5 is a detail view of a corner support member of the container ofthe present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIG. 1, acollapsible wall container of the present invention is shown. Thecontainer 10 comprises a rectangular floor 11 having opposing side framemembers 12 connected at right angles to opposing end frame members 13 todefine the periphery of the floor l1. Reinforcing members 14 areconnected across the floor 11 to the side frame members 13 at intervalsto provide strength and rigidity to the floor member. An expanded metalgrid 15 is connected over the frame members 12 and 13 and thereinforcing members 14 to provide a floor surface to the container 10. Afork lift bracket 16 is connected to each of the 7 two end frame members13 to facilitate the use of the container 10 as a pallet in conjunctionwith a fork lift truck.

Socket supports 17 are connected to each corner of the rectangular floor11. The socket supports 17 each include a leg 18 which extends below thesurface of the floor. Feet 19 are connected to the legs 18 and supportthe container 10 above a floor surface. Each socket support 17 furthercomprises a body portion 20 which extends above the surface of the floor11 to provide a means for stacking several containers upon oneanother aswill be discussed below. The body portion 20 and the leg portion 18define a continuous hollow socket 21. A floor plate 22 at the end of thesocket 21 mounts the foot 19.

A vertical support post 23, having an exterior dimension complementaryto the interior dimensions of the socket 21, is received within each ofthe sockets 21 as shown in FIG. 1. A lower end of the support post restsagainst the floor plate 22. The complementary fit between the socket 21and the support posts 23 provides a secure means of retaining thesupport posts in an upright position without the use of bolts or likefasteners.

As is best shown in FIG. 5, flange members 24 are connected to thesupport posts 23 and extend at right angles from the support posts 23parallel to either the side frame member 12 or the end frame member 13.The flange member 24 includes a tongue portion 25 extending from thesupport post 23 and defining a cammed notch 26 at its upper surface. Thecammed notch 26 comprises a grooved section G and a tapered relieved camportion C to facilitate collapsing the container 10 as will be discussedbelow. The flange members 24 are located in vertically spaced pairs oneach of the support posts 23; first at an upper position U and second atan intermediate position I for supporting walls 27 of the container aswill be explained below.

The walls 27 comprise a chain-link wire mesh which is flexible,vertically collapsible resilient and nonselfsupporting. Each of the fourwalls 27 is identically constructed and supported by the structure whichwill be described below. The present description of the wall structurewill therefore be isolated to a description of an end wall 28 as shownin FIG. 2.

The end wall 28 is connected to the end frame mem ber 13 by means of aretaining rib 29 which extends through a lowermost portion of the meshof the wall 28 and is welded to the end frame 13 at studs 30. Anopposite, upper-most portion of the end wall 28 is connected to an uppersupport rail 31 by means of a second retaining rib 29 and studs 30. Lockbolts 32 are connected at opposite ends of the support rail 31 forreceipt within the cammed notch 26. An intermediate support rail 33 isconnected at a vertical, mid-portion of the wall 28 by fasteners 34 andis located for engagement of a second set of lock bolts 32, on theintermediate rail 33 within the cammed notch 26 of the flanged members24 in the intermediate position I on the support posts 23.

In order to erect the chain-link end wall 38, [or any of the remainingwalls 27, as their structure is identical] the support rail 31 isgrasped and raised until the lock bolts 32 register with the cammednotches 26 in the flange members 25. The relieved cam portion C of thecammed notch 26 initially receives the lock bolt 32. The taper of thecam portion C toward the groove portion G causes the lock bolt to slideinto registry in the cammed notch 26. The lock bolts 32 on theintermediate support rail 33 are similarly brought into registry withthe respective cammed notches 26 on the flange members 24 located at theintermediate level I.

The vertical height of the wall 28 in a non-stretched condition isslightly undersized so that the lock bolt 32 on the upper support rail31 cannot be brought into position without stretching the chain-linkmesh above the level of the flange members 24, at the upper level U onthe support posts 23, and lowering the lock bolts 32 into positionagainst the relieved cammed portion C. The stretched chain-link walltends to urge the support rail 31 downwardly toward the non-stressedposition of the wall 28. As the stressed chain-link wall 38 urges theupper support rail in a downward direction, the lock bolt 32 slides intoregistry in the notch 26 to securely hold and lock the lock bolts 32 intheir respective notches 26. In this manner the chain-link wall 28 actsas a spring to retain the upper support rail 31 in position and thushold the end wall 28 in an upright position. Furthermore, the thussupported vertical wall 28 urges and locks the support posts 23 withinthe respectainer within the respective hollow sockets 21 of the firstcontainer as is shown in FIG. 3. The body portions of the socket support17 extend above the tive hollow sockets 21, thus rendering the wall asolid integrated structure which will not collapse under heavy use.

The intermediate support rail 33 is connected at a position on the wall28 to permit engagement of the respective lock bolts 32 thereon withtheir cammed notches 26 only by flexing the chain-link wall above theflanged members at the intermediate position I on the support posts 23.The intermediate support rail 33 is engaged with the cammed notches 26in the same manner as is the upper support rail 31. The chain-link wall28 therefore springs and locks both support rails 31 and 33 in place andthe rails 31 and in turn suspend the wall 28 in an upright position.

When all four walls are thus erected the container is securely connectedto the support posts 23. On the other hand, if it is desired topartially lower one or several of the walls 27 (See FIG. 1), the uppersupport rail can be disengaged from the cammed notches 26 and an upperportion of the disengaged wall 27 dropped to the level of theintermediate support rail 33 which is still connected to the supportpost 23. In this manner, the container provides a wall which can belowered or raised to varying heights for use, for example, as a partsstorage bin.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the container 10 can be completely collapsedfor storage by disengaging all of the support rails 31 and 33 from thecammed notches 26, removing the support posts 23 from their respectivesocket supports 17, placing the support posts 23 on the floor, andfolding the chain-link walls 27 over the floor 1 1.

A second, like container 10 can then be stacked upon the first container10 by engaging each of the lower leg portions 18 of the socket support17 in the second confloor 11 of the container 10 a sufficient distanceto permit clearance by the fork lift bracket 16 of the folded walls 27and the support posts 23 folded within the first container 10.

The invention thus provides a means of compactly stacking and storingextremely strong and resilient container structure which can be easilyerected and used. It can be appreciated that the present invention of aresilient chain-link wall member in conjunction with a collapsiblecontainer as described is not restricted to any single number of supportposts or to the shape per se of the container. Therefore any embodimentsof the invention having varying numbers of support posts or shapes areintended to fall within the spirit and scope of the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. A container comprising a floor, support members connected to saidfloor, vertical posts removably received by said support members, aresilient wall member having a first lower edge connected adjacent aperiphery of said floor, said wall member being vertically stretchablefrom afirst, non-stressed condition to a second, stressed condition,catch means connected adjacent a second upper edge of said wall membersand means on each of said posts for receiving said catch means only whensaid wall member is stretched to the second stressed condition; wherebysaid wall member urges said catch means within said receiving means toresiliently lock said wall member in an upright position.

2. A container according to claim 1 wherein said resilient wall membercomprises wire of a non-self supporting open mesh.

3. A container according to claim 1 wherein said catch means comprises ahorizontal support nail connected adjacent said second upper edge ofsaid wall member and catch members on opposite ends of said support barfor registry with said receiving means on said support posts.

4. A container according to claim 1 wherein said receiving meanscomprises a flange on an upper edge of each of said support posts, saidflange defining a notch therein for receiving said catch means.

5. A container according to claim 1 wherein said support means comprisevertically extending leg members connected adjacent the periphery ofsaid floor and having a lower extending portion for supporting saidcontainer above ground level and an upper extending portion above saidfloor, said upper extending portion defining a hollow socket forreceiving one of said support posts therein or for receiving acomplementary lower extending portion of a leg member of a second likecontainer for stacking said containers when not in use.

6. A container comprising a floor, support members connected to saidfloor, vertical posts removably received by said support members, aresilient wall member having a first, lower edge connected adjacent apcriphery of said floor, catch means connected adjacent a second upperedge of said wall member and flange means on an upper edge of each ofsaid posts, each flange means comprising a notch defined by a relieved,cammed surface tapering into said notch for receiving said catch meanstherein.

1. A container comprising a floor, support members connected to saidfloor, vertical posts removably received by said support members, aresilient wall member having a first lower edge connected adjacent aperiphery of said floor, said wall member being vertically stretchablefrom a first, non-stressed condition to a second, stressed condition,catch means connected adjacent a second upper edge of said wall membersand means on each of said posts for receiving said catch means only whensaid wall member is stretched to the second stressed condition; wherebysaid wall member urges said catch means within said receiving means toresiliently lock said wall member in an upright position.
 2. A containeraccording to claim 1 wherein said resilient wall member comprises wireof a non-self supporting open mesh.
 3. A container according to claim 1wherein said catch means comprises a horizontal support nail connectedadjacent said second upper edge of said wall member and catch members onopposite ends of said support bar for registry with said receiving meanson said support posts.
 4. A container according to claim 1 wherein saidreceiving means comprises a flange on an upper edge of each of saidsupport posts, said flange defining a notch therein for receiving saidcatch means.
 5. A container according to claim 1 wherein said supportmeans comprise vertically extending leg members connected adjacent theperiphery of said floor and having a lower extending portion forsupporting said container above ground level and an upper extendingportion above said floor, said upper extending portion defining a hollowsocket for receiving one of said support posts therein or for receivinga complementary lower extending portion of a leg member of a second likecontainer for stacking said containers when not in use.
 6. A containercomprising a floor, support members connected to said floor, verticalposts removably received by said support members, a resilient wallmember having a first, lower edge connected adjacent a periphery of saidfloor, catch means connected adjacent a second upper edge of said wallmember and flange means on an upper edge of each of said posts, eachflange means comprising a notch defined by a relieved, cammed surfacetapering into said notch for receiving said catch means therein.